Chelsea talisman retired from internationals after Euro 2012 and Hodgson is accused of not trying hard enough to coax him into U-turn

Terry and June: Should Hodgson have tried to talk Chelsea star into playing this summer? (Photo: Michael Regan - The FA)

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Tony Adams has accused Roy Hodgson of a monumental World Cup blunder by bottling the chance to take John Terry to Brazil.

Former England skipper Adams says Hodgson should have talked Terry out of international retirement ahead of this summer's World Cup - and fears he took the easy option of leaving him in the wilderness.

Adams, who captained England to the semi-finals of Euro 96, believes Terry's double act with Gary Cahill at Chelsea is still the best central defensive partnership in the country.

And the Arsenal legend says England will fall short at the finals because Hodgson will miss Terry's leadership.

Adams, 47, said: "I would definitely have taken him out to lunch and tried to convince him to come and play. He started 34 of Chelsea's 38 Premier League games this year, and when he came to Arsenal with Cahill last winter, it was as good as you get defensively - they were so strong.

"Terry Venables would have been straight on the phone to John - he is 33, not 36. And I would be trying to get a decent back four together, because you are going to need one to win the World Cup."

Although Terry, the Blues' skipper, has been perceived as a divisive figure in English football, Adams scoffed: "It's part of the coach's job to work with the players, isn't it?

"Why are we paying him X amount of pounds? Everyone can pick a team, get them tactically right, get them into a shape and say, 'Go and play, ra ra ra.'

"But we might need John Terry for this tournament. We might need him for seven games. It might be his swansong, but we need a central defender - I'm not sure about [Everton's Phil] Jagielka or [Manchester United's Phil] Jones (in the case of the latter, that's a view Adams shares with Roy Keane ).

"At the end of the day, it's Roy's head - if it was my head on the block, I would not put it on those two centre-backs, particularly when you've got Terry sitting indoors with the experience that he's got.

"If you are leaving John Terry at home because of all the baggage that comes with him, you wouldn't take Wayne Rooney, would you? Or Steven Gerrard? Where do you draw the line?

"I think you have to work with the best players you have got, try and get the best out of them. Even if we do that, I still think we might fall short, but we will have a better chance.

"I don't know where Roy is going with this. If he thinks these guys can win it, I'm not so sure. I would have been talking to John six months ago. Is he the best centre-half in the country? I think he is - and as a partnership, Cahill and Terry are the best.

(Photo: Ulet Ifansasti)

"Major tournaments are a different kettle of fish from qualifying against Moldova at home.

"The more tournament experience you have under your belt, the better you are going to be. Maybe you didn't need him in the qualifying campaign, but you need him now."

Terry, who has won 78 England caps, retired from international football in October 2012 before the FA handed him a four-match ban and £220,000 fine for racially abusing QPR's Anton Ferdinand.

Earlier this week, he signed a new one-year contract worth £150,000-a-week at Chelsea, despite Jose Mourinho's side finishing the season without a trophy.